That, and she was the Empress' best bellica, noted for a short-fused, nasty temper, standing there quite angrily, with a vicious-looking sword drawn. She supposed she cut quite a figure -- especially with this new sword that was so much better than her old one.
She was quite happy with it. The metalworker had spent extra time on it, adding touches to make it unmistakably hers. The rubies adorning the hilt glinted like blood in the light of the tavern, matching the hue of her hair, and the glow of the light on the shaft of the sword shone almost red and hungry, making the weapon take on a blood-thirsty personality. The pommel had a shape of two dragons curling around to snarl at each other. It was perfectly balanced, not too heavy for her, for all that she was well-muscled and toned. Stron
